First Look at “Children of the Whales” Anime (with English Translation)

Fantasy anime aren’t a rarity in the least, but fantasy anime with stand-out, gorgeous visuals only come once in a blue moon (or once a season). The anime adaptation of Abi Umeda’s Children of the Whales (Kujira no Kora wa Sajō ni Utau) looks to satisfy both fans of fantasy and beautiful animation. Bandai Visual unveiled the first promotional video for the anime—which will premiere in October—on Thursday. Take a look:

[Note: name and term spellings are not official]

Lycos: It was something that mattered nothing to me before… So why… does it hurt this much now…?Chakro: Lycos came from the outside world, but she still came to love the mud whale! I don’t want to run away even though there’s hope!! I’ll protect Lycos and everyone, no matter what!!Suo: I had always wanted to cure the short life spans of the Shirushi. I couldn’t bear everyone leaving this world before me. That’s why… I have no words.Ohni: So this is what we get. This is the world outside of the sand sea we all dreamed of? A world where people whose faces we can’t even see crush our dreams? It means nothing… This world means nothing to me anymore!!Chakro: Our drifter ship drifts on the endless sea of sand. The mud whale was precious to us. It was our everything. It was our world.Lycos: The outside world you wish to know about so much is filled with people detached from their emotions who use Apatoia without hearts to fight a seemingly endless war. That’s the kind of world it is.Chakro: This record revolving around the mud whale is my personal diary.Title:Children of the Whales (Kujira no Kora wa Sajō ni Utau)Lycos: It’s not right… These people aren’t criminals who deserve to die!!

The story of Children of the Whales revolves around Chakro, takes place on a giant drifting ship shaped like a whale called the “Mud Whale.” The ship doesn’t ride on the water, though—instead, it wanders an endless sea of sand. Living on this ship are two tribes of people: the Shirushi (lit. The Marked), who are given superpowers called “Saimia” born from their emotions in exchange for having a short lifespan, and the Muin (lit. The Unmarked), humans with no superpowers, but a long lifespan.

The protagonist of the story—a young male Shirushi named Chakro—believed that he would end his short life on the Mud Whale without ever seeing the outside world. However, his adventure begins when a girl from the outside world, Lycos, arrives on the ship. She tells him that the outside world is currently in the middle of an endless in which army commanders control Apatoia, humans with their emotions sucked out of them, to fight their battles.

The anime—which is being animated by J.C.STAFF (Amanchu, A Certain Magical Index)—will premiere in Japan in October. The manga is not currently available in English